Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1887-09-03

made great impression on his people. The
check for So 900 which had been left to pay
the debt on the church was drawn on bank
in neighboring town five miles away. 1t
was made payable to the church trustees or
order, and they Endorsed it over to my uncle
and told him to go over to the bank at his
leisure, fetch the money and pay the church's
debt. About week after old Horn was
buried my uncle put the check in his pocket
and went after the money. 1t was early in
the fall, when the nights were cool, and my
uncle being great walker, concluded to stay
in town, after drawing the money from the
bank, and walk the five miles home. He
started back about 7:30 o'clock in the even
ing, later than he had intended, but he had
fallen in with a friend and the time passed
quicker than he had noticed.
1.-THE graveyard where old Jason Horn was
buried lay along the road my uncle had to
travel 1t was two miles from the town the
church was in, or q little more than half way
between the two places. About o'clock that
night two men came into the former place in
great hurry. They were pale and excited.
They were the men who had gone on duty that
night to watch old Horns grave. To every one
they met they said they had seen ghost-a
tall white figure that seemed to float on the air.
1t had risen out of the ground in the grave
yard, and after touching at several graves
had started slowly toward Horns grave in a
manner that drove the watchmen from the
place in terror After going half a mile or
more the men had cautiously returned,
thinking the ghost might have gone away,
but there it was, circling in weird
manner near the spot where Horns
grave was This news caused a great
sensation, and the dead mans nephews
were much alarmed, and construed the ap-
partition as a warning to them for their action
in the matter of the will. While the excite
ment was at its height my uncle arrived in
town 1t was then about 10 o'clock. He was
very much agitated, ard the story he told
added to the feverish feeling in the place.
After telling why he had remained in the
other town 50 late my uncle said:
al was coming along toward the grave
yard ct Il moderate gait said he. carrying
my light overcoat over my arm and singing
a favorite hymn, when suddenly something
white attracted my attention over in the
burying ground. l came even with the road
entrance to the graveyard, when saw tall,
white figure standing erect q short distance
inside the sacred enclosure. 1 was momen-
tarily startled, of course, but quickly re-
covered myself and at once determined to
discover what the figure was, and WHY 1t was
there at such n place and at such an hour.
entered the graveyard and approached the
white figure. 1t moved slowly forward for q
few steps, then stopped and seemed to kneel
The sky was clouding over, but the whiteness
of the object before me made 1t conspicuous
in the darkness | drew near noiselessly, I'M
til was within reach of the kneeling figure
l bent and placed my hand upon it. In
stantlv it sprang out, with loud scream, and
tried to run away Iseizedit, and found that
I held in my arms an apparently young wo-
man. screaming with terror. | succeeded in
uuieting her, telling her who was and that
meant her no harm, and she finally told me
she was the daughter of a farmer living near.
She was a somnambulist, she said. Her
mother had recently died and she was buried
in that graveyard, and, said the girl, 4 must
have risen in my sleep in my night clothes
and walked here to mothers grave.
"'The girl, continued my uncle, was
shivering, and / threw my overcOat about
her and led her out of the graveyard. She
said her home was half q mile further on in
the direction 1 was going, so | said would
see her safely there. The darkness became
deeper, and before we had gone far could
see but a few feet ahead of me. When we
got to the spot where the trees and the bushes
are SO thick on either side of the road, it was
barely possible to see at ALL Suddenly felt
the girl take her hand from my arm. l
stopped and spoke to her. She was gone
groped about in the darkness, but she was
nowhere to be found She took my overcoat
with her. continued my uncle, while look
of agony came upon his face, and if she is
not discovered
"There my uncle broke down and sobbed
"sSuppose she isn't discovered said a by
stander, petulantly you can get another
one, can't you?
Yes said my uncle. Yes; but, oh! my
brethren, The churchs $1,000 was in the
pocket of that overcoat"
"Men, there was a time in that place.
Everybody was interested in the church, and
in q short time a hundred men with lanterns
were securing the country about the grave,
yard and the graveyard itself for traces OF
the mysterious somnambulist, who had
walked away with the church's fortune.
search wall that made The blood Of the bold
est in the party turn cold came from that
part of the graveyard where old Horn was
buried. Everybody FASTENED thither, includ
ing nv poor uncle By the light of the
lamps that were held aloft a terrible sight
was revealed. Old Horns coffin lay open by
the side of his grave. Old Horn was in it
but his S23, 900 were gone. The grave had
been robbed Stretched on the ground were
Horns two nephews, groveling in the dirt
and wailing in the agony Of their souls.
"Well, of course there was great lamenta
ton in the town, but no one mourned will
the true soreness of heart that my unfortun
ate uncle did The mystery of the robbery
of course could not be explained. but my
uncle worried SO much, and his Oversensitive
conscience pricl,ed him so, that q month after
the robbery in the graveyard he resigned hi:
pulpit and babe farewell to the place to seeI
peace elsewhere We heard from him few
months later. He was in Montana, and said
he had fallen into great fortune by the unex
pected finding of a silver mine.
Brother Young paused. His story had GER
tainly not improved the spirits of the club.
"Did they ever discover who got the
church's $1,000 and the wealth out of ole
Horns grave?' asked Caterer Collins, inn
patiently.
mo. they never did" replied Brother
Young.
But they might" said the Caterer.
"How.' inquired Brother Young.
by putting the detectives on your uncle,
said the Caterer.
Here the doleful meeting adjourned.-New
York Sun
1t is said that during Its period of growth
Indian corn draws from the soil thirty six
times its own weight of water.